Collaborative Research: Fear, Death, and Life History Switch Points - Cumulative Effects of Phenotypic Plasticity and Predation across Three Life Stages

合作研究：恐惧、死亡和生活史转换点——三个生命阶段表型可塑性和捕食的累积效应

• 批准号: 0717220
• 负责人: James Vonesh
• 金额: $ 24.7万
• 依托单位: Virginia Commonwealth University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0717220&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Fear; Death; Life

Many prey have plastic defenses that they use only when at risk of predation, otherwise saving the costs of defense. In some contexts, these plastic responses and their costs can have surprisingly large consequences both for individuals later in life and for population dynamics. In other contexts the lethal effects of predation matter much more. This collaborative project focuses on predator-induced plasticity in hatching and metamorphosis, two ecologically pivotal events that exemplify the life-stage transitions common among animals. The focal species, red-eyed treefrogs, hatch early to escape egg predators, metamorphose early in response to tadpole predators, and delay metamorphosis in response to predators of froglets. The project uses mathematical models and field experiments integrated across these three life stages to assess how environmental context shapes the relative importance of plastic responses to risk and direct predation for both population dynamics and individual fitness. This will advance understanding of population ecology, life history, and development, and strengthen links among these fields. It will directly support a postdoctoral researcher, 2-3 graduate students, and 6 undergraduate interns, and provide research opportunities for 15-20 more undergraduates. Students will gain cross-cultural experience and training in tropical field biology and ecology. Results will be broadly disseminated - the Principal Investigator's prior research has been widely reported in the popular media and in textbooks.

许多猎物都有塑料防御，只有在有被捕食的风险时才会使用，否则可以节省防御成本。 在某些情况下，这些可塑性反应及其成本可能对个体以后的生活和种群动态产生令人惊讶的巨大影响。在其他情况下，捕食的致命影响更为重要。这个合作项目的重点是捕食者诱导的可塑性在孵化和变态，两个生态关键事件，使动物之间常见的生命阶段的过渡。焦点物种，红眼树蛙，孵化早，以逃避卵捕食者，变态早，以应对蝌蚪捕食者，并延迟变态，以应对捕食者的小青蛙。该项目使用数学模型和实地实验，将这三个生命阶段整合在一起，以评估环境背景如何塑造塑料对风险的反应和直接捕食对种群动态和个体适应性的相对重要性。这将促进对种群生态学、生活史和发展的理解，并加强这些领域之间的联系。 它将直接支持一名博士后研究员，2-3名研究生和6名本科生实习生，并为15-20名本科生提供研究机会。学生将获得热带野外生物学和生态学的跨文化经验和培训。结果将被广泛传播-主要研究者先前的研究已被大众媒体和教科书广泛报道。